TRCA staff will hold a public information session to provide project details and to answer community questions and concerns. The meeting will be held in early-to-mid March, 2026. Exact time and location will be posted here closer to the date.
Toronto and Region Conservation Authority (TRCA), in partnership with the City of Toronto, is undertaking shoreline maintenance work on existing shoreline erosion control structures in Port Union Waterfront Park. This work will provide long-term protection for the park from erosion and address public safety concerns.
Project Location
The Project Area is within Port Union Waterfront Park, near the intersection of Port Union Road and Bridgend Street in Scarborough, City of Toronto.
The area of concern is the shoreline located along Lake Ontario, consisting of approximately 1 km of shoreline erosion control structures five damaged cobble shoreline areas between a series of rocky structures called armourstone headlands.
Learn More About the Project
Project Background
Port Union Waterfront Park is part of a long stretch of shoreline parks and trails system that runs from East Point Park to Rouge Beach, along Lake Ontario in the east end of the City of Toronto.
The park features a multi-use trail, picnic areas, benches, and clear views of Lake Ontario. It is a popular area for walking and cycling, since it connects to a larger network of waterfront trails.
The park was constructed in the mid 2000s as part of efforts to create continuous trail and greenspace for public use and to provide erosion protection to nearby neighbourhoods and infrastructure, including the Metrolinx rail line.
Since the park’s construction, the shoreline has been exposed to continued wave and wind action as well as recent severe weather events, such as high Lake Ontario water levels in 2017 and 2019, and the April 14/15, 2018 wind storm. This has mostly affected the cobble shorelines in the project area, which has been damaged by storms that move material away from the shore.
This has impacted the areas behind and around the shoreline which have not been as well protected. The multi-use trail trails have become damaged and potentially dangerous to use. In order to ensure public safety and stability of the park, these issues must be addressed with long-term erosion solutions.
In 2024, TRCA worked with GHD Limited, a coastal engineering consulting firm, to complete a coastal analysis of the full project area to determine the erosion risk areas along the shoreline. Of the twelve structures, five of the cobble shoreline structures were identified as being at risk and requiring maintenance.
GHD developed detailed designs for repairs of the five cobble shorelines and determined appropriate stone sizing for each shoreline section. The stone sizing takes recreational use into account, and the new cobble will be similar in size to the existing materials.
Scope of Work
The scope of work for this project includes:
- Site preparation, including any necessary tree removals/protection, installing Erosion and Sediment Control (ESC) measures and construction fencing, creating staging/stockpiling areas and building temporary barge access docks on two of the headlands
- Delivering the new cobble material by barge. Smaller deliveries and vehicles will access the site through the tunnel at Port Union Village Common Park
- Placing the new cobble material along the shoreline. Cobble size will be similar to material already present on site to maintain recreational use
- Restoring the site including reseeding and tree planting
The proposed modifications will allow the shoreline erosion control structure to better absorb wave impact and be more resilient to changing to lake levels.
Construction Information
Work is scheduled to begin in April of 2026 and be completed by winter of 2026. Any timeline updates will be posted here as the project progresses.
Construction activities will include material deliveries to the park by barge on weekdays during work hours where possible. Occasional conditions such as extreme weather or low water levels may require deliveries to occur outside this window.
The trail will remain open and usable throughout the project, with one minor detour and occasional minor delays to move material across the trail. During such times, TRCA staff will act as flagpersons to escort the trucks and maintain public safety. The trail connection between East Point Park and Rouge Beach will remain accessible. Please see the map below for site and trail closure details.
Public Notices
Public Information Session
TRCA staff will hold a public information session to provide project details and to answer community questions and concerns. The meeting will be held in early-to-mid March, 2026. Exact time and location will be posted here closer to the date.
If you have questions or concerns and are not able to attend the session, please reach out to the project manager using the contact information at the bottom of the page.
Notice of Construction
Signs will be placed near the Project Area that include detailed construction information, timelines and park closures. The Notice of Construction sign will be available here once it has been finalized.
Progress Updates
TBD
Contact Us
The Planning Team is located at TRCA’s Boyd Field Centre in Vaughan:
Restoration and Infrastructure Division, Erosion Risk Management
9755 Canada Company Avenue
Vaughan, Ontario
L4H 0A3
For more information regarding this project, please contact the Project Manager:
Whitney Brennan, Project Manager
Erosion Risk Management
Restoration & Infrastructure
whitney.brennan@trca.ca
(647) 212-6871